Not 5 minutes after all the relatives went to bed last night (and no, there was no teeth cleaning or peeing - again), there was a knock on the door. I'm a tad wary of people knocking on the door after dark, and especially after 10pm, but heh, as I'm never one to pass up a good opportunity to find out what's going on in the world, I answered. At least I was still up and dressed, unlike last time there was a night time visitor.
So this guy is standing there, telling me how he's staying at and fixing up the house two doors up, he's a carpenter, and he left his wallet on another job site which is all locked up and he really needs to borrow $10. I mean, the guy launched into this freaky long-ass story about how the wallet is in his toolbox which is locked in the other site, and Alan, who is two streets away isn't in. [Like I was supposed to know who the fuck Alan is.] And I must recognize his car, and he's friends with the gay guys that live in the house, and they asked him to get the house ready to sell. You know, the big one with the bamboo in the front yard. And then how he'd been to two other neighbors to ask to borrow money and they'd turned him down, and one guy came to the door with a gun behind his back. [Hmm, thinks Sarah, why didn't I think of getting a gun, although I have a panic button right next to the front door so I always figure I'll hit that if anything goes awry.] And he can go to Winn Dixie and get some milk, bread and eggs, and he only needs $10 and I can keep his watch as collateral, or his drivers license, and he's a good, honest guy, and blahblahblah. Honestly, I think he was slightly drunk. Or else completely insane. Or just panicked and hungry and not knowing where to turn.
Well, after that song and dance, what could I do? I figured if the guy had the need or just plain chutzpah to knock on a strangers door after 10pm at night, he clearly needed $10 more than me. So I gave it to him. He thanked me effusively, blessed me several times and promised faithfully to pay me back. Yes, you may call me a sucker. But I have no expectations of getting the money back at all, and am perfectly prepared for him to spend it all on booze or drugs, so if I have no expectations of it really being a loan, am I truly being suckered in? Maybe it was just the payment for the entertainment of his story. Haha. Well, we'll see if it comes back again or not.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
The knock on the door
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8 comments:
PLEASE be careful. When people do that here it is to do a home invasion. The moment you open the door.
Well, I think the $10 is worth the cool blog entry. But, do be careful. I have a bad feeling about that. He could be trying you to set you up for a crime later. Just be careful.
Jenny (HeidN)
will be interesting to see if the $10 comes back to you.
Did you see any construction at "Alan's" today?
THAT'S BIZARRE AND FREAKY AT THE SAME TIME!!!
HE SEEMED LIKE A NICE GUY AND HE MIGHT JUST PAY YOU BACK?!
YOU'RE SO SWEET AND KIND SARAH!!!
Sarah! You can spend your $10 any way you want -- but PLEASE stop opening your door to strangers after dark! I know you weren't alone, but your relatives won't be there all the time. Girl, there are LOTS of freaky people here in Florida and they prey on women, especially women alone. It is good to be nice, but you must also be SAFE!!!! I work at the newspaper, so I know way too much about bad things that happen. Love, your friend from just a little northwest of you. xo
My mother used to always give money to people on corners. Other people made fun of her because they assumed the people would buy drugs/booze with it. My mother always told me she didn't care. They may use it that way, but that was their choice. It was her choice to extend the helping hand because you never know, they may go buy a sandwich and it may save their life.
At least you had relatives there, so it wasn't like you were completely alone...and if someone intends to do you harm a locked door isn't going to stop them. So what is the harm in opening and trying to help?
OH, with all that being said....you are still brave as hell. I would be too chicken to open the door. Which may be why I have three very large dogs and signs that say "Beware of Dog" all over my property. Of course, my dogs are completely useless as guard dogs but others don't know that.
Once in my senior year of high school I was home alone. A very distraught woman came to the door and asked if she could borrow some money to buy Tylenol, Pedialyte, and a few other things for her 18 month old who was very ill. She explained that she and her husband were military and were new in town and for various reasons, they were broke as a result of the move. She said she would have NEVER gone door-to-door, but with her child being so sick she had to do something. Her embarrassment was more than apparent. She promised to repay me in a week after her husband's payday. I gave her $50 and she her eyes welled with tears. Later, my mom told me I was nuts and that I'd probably never get my money back, but she applauded my generosity. A week later, the lady came back and repaid me, her eyes filled with tears of gratitude.
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